[meteorite-list] Lighting up the Sky Over West Virginia & Ohio

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Oct 25 21:49:44 2004
Message-ID: <200410260027.RAA00682_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.wtap.com/news/headlines/1130446.html

Lighting Up the Sky
Katie Sabatino
WTAP News (West Virginia)
October 25, 2004

"We didn't know (what is was). We thought maybe we were under attack or
something," says John Huelse of Parkersburg.

Fortunately, it wasn't a weapon, but instead a huge fire ball,
specifically, a large meteor shooting Eastward across the sky.

"We were at work last night. It was about 11:15 p.m. We were sitting in
the break area and all of a sudden it just became as light as day."

"The trail, it was kind of orange and white and of course the flash of
light was kind of a fluorescent light, like bluish white," says Huelse.

Astronomers believe the meteor was about the size of a piece of
furniture. While meteors are common in our atmosphere, larger ones like
Sunday night's are harder to come by.

"We pick up, the earth that is, picks up about five tons of meteor
debris every day. It's not as unusual a phenomenon as you may think,"
says PHS Planetarium Director Fred Doak.

"Large meteors as bright as the one was last night happen about six
times a year in this area," he adds.

And while many missed the brilliant site, others were in awe of its
brief presence.

"We were just, it was amazing. I mean, it had to be close!" says Huelse.

"It could have been left over from the beginning of the solar system or
it could have been just passing space debris," says Doak.

But whatever its origins, it was a site to behold for all those lucky
enough to see it.

==================================================================

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3847532/detail.html

Viewer Descriptions Of Flash In Sky
Possible Meteor Spotters
NBC 4 News
October 25, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The following are viewer e-mails to NBC 4 after they
saw a bright flash of light in the sky Sunday night in Central Ohio.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 11:20 p.m. over in the sky northeast of Pataskala Ohio, we just saw a
strange flash of light, it was blue-green, it lit up our street and then
orange smoke (was) in the sky.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I live off of Holt Road in Grove City. As I was driving home this
evening around 11:15 p.m., I saw a bright flash of light, looked up and
saw what looked to be a streak of fire that quickly dimmed. At first I
thought the flash of light was lightning, but then I saw the streak in
the sky. I've seen "shooting stars," but this was extremely bright and I
had never seen one "burning out" so clearly before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was on I-270 driving and at approximately 11:18 p.m., I saw what was
probably a large meteor that looked like it was traveling east and lit
up the sky.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My husband and I were driving in Pickerington toward Baltimore and we
saw something amazing in the sky. It looked like something exploded,
making a white flash, then the entire sky was glowing bright blue. We
saw something that seemed to be burning, falling in the direction of
I-70. The trail of the object was also glowing orange, and then it
turned to smoke and dissipated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a flash of blue light in the sky, like an explosion! It was
bright enough to light up my block.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was laying in bed last night looking out my bedroom window when I saw
the blue light just beneath the crack in my window shade. It was like a
turquoise-blue light lighting up the sky. The sight reminded me of a
light bulb that had just burnt out after you turn on the switch except
it was a pretty blue color.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was on I-71 North last night, maybe 40 minutes outside of Columbus,
when the whole sky lit up a bluish-green color and then there was a
giant flash of white. It looked like a firework, but my friend and I
knew it was too far away to be a firework. We thought maybe it was a
meteor or even an alien spacecraft. It was quite beautiful!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was returning home from a concert sometime after 11 p.m. last night.
As I opened the front door to my house, suddenly the whole sky seemed to
light up for a brief instant in a bright shade of blue. I turned around
to face the eastern sky, and I saw in the distance a bright blue ball of
light and a trail of white and yellow "sparks" emanating from it,
streaking across the sky. It looks like an offshoot from a fireworks
display, only clearly at a much higher altitude than fireworks -- and no
sound. As the "sparks" trailed off, they left a faint, hazy glowing
trail in the sky for several minutes. I opened the door and called to my
wife to come and see, but by the time she made it out, the trail had
nearly vanished.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I saw it last night as I was standing out talking to a friend. It did
not "streak across the sky." It dropped from the sky down.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all there was the bright blue flash that lit up the whole sky
area, I was facing slightly away from it so it was in the edge of my
sight when it exploded, but I turned quickly to it. I saw something
twirling down leaving a glowing trail like no other meteorite I have
ever seen. I then saw something large drop below it very fast but not
like a meteorite.

The stream was not sparking, it was glowing, as seen from here. It was
obviously glowing residue. It did not fade away as I have seen all other
meteorites fade. It gradually spread out and the glowing got dimmer. If
you did not know it was there and looked in the sky you might not see
it. Knowing it was there I kept watching. You could see the stream
slowly spreading out with the spiraling route seen easier.

At no point did I think, not now do I believe it was a meteorite, It had
the appearance of either a plane exploding then falling from the sky, Or
a space capsule exploding then falling from the sky in a swirling motion
as some planes do when they lose control suddenly and crash.

The stream looked like the space capsule that exploded after take off,
and spiraled up, but this was in reverse.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I saw the light in Galloway. The only reason I did was because my dogs
started going crazy, very agitated and barking right before it happened
and I got up to put them outside. It looked like a spotlight from a
helicopter it was so bright, only it was blue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a resident in Athens, Ohio. I saw the light last night when I was
leaving my friend's house at 11:21 p.m. to be exact. It did undoubtedly
leave the sky bright blue for a split second. However, it burned,
literally, red like it was on fire and left a trail of smoke behind it.
The smoke lingered in the air for some time after it disappeared.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked outside Sunday onto the porch around 11:15 p.m. and happened to
be looking toward the eastern sky. That's when I saw it the object in
the sky. The sky lit up like a welder's torch and the entire
neighborhood lit up like a silent flash of lightning. The object was
traveling northeast as it exploded instantly leaving a broad long trail
of glowing embers that remained visible for nearly 20 seconds. It was a
clearly visible over porch lights and a bright moon. I consider myself
lucky to have seen such a magnificent show.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I live in southern Ohio, in Jackson County, and I saw the meteor. It
came from the east, lighting up the sky as it traveled, leaving a long,
bright trail. It disappeared over the northern horizon. The light was
bright enough that the dogs outside started barking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The meteor last night provided a little extra "scare" for me and three
of my friends. We had just gotten out of "The Grudge," a new scary movie
with Sarah Michelle Gellar, and we were all a little spooked. As we were
walking out to our car there was a sudden booming sound and the entire
sky lit up. We looked up and saw a streak across the sky. Everyone in
the parking lot just stopped what they were doing and looked up to the
sky. I think everyone got a little Halloween spook out of the meteor.
Received on Mon 25 Oct 2004 08:27:06 PM PDT